Forgetmenot
by Beans On Toast
Summary: An old case comes back to haunt both Stella & Lindsay... Did Stella know Lindsay before she came to New York?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters!**

"So it's official, you and Lindsay aren't the hot new couple around here anymore." Hawkes teased Danny who was yawning as they headed out of the locker room.

"How many times have I told you already? There isn't anything going on between me and Montana, we are definitely not a couple." Danny told him. "And if you're talking about who I think you're talking about, you better watch who you're telling, Mac will be mad if he hears you spreading rumours about him."

"Whatever you say Danny, it's the truth. Hammerbeck and Adam saw him with Stella, they were having a candle lit dinner in a restaurant, Lorenzo's I think."

Danny was just about to ask Hawkes what Hammerbeck and Adam were doing at Lorenzo's together when he saw Stella heading towards them looking worried.

"Have either of you seen Lindsay?" Stella asked, a sense of urgency in her voice.

"No, she has been paged but she hasn't shown up yet, is something wrong?" Danny asked now wearing the same worried expression as Stella.

"Erm…no…I don't think so, I…um…just need some notes from her before we go to the scene." Stella told them unconvincingly.

"Stella what's going on? If something's wrong you need to tell us." Hawkes told her softly.

"Stella!" Lindsay was now rushing down the corridor towards them. Stella ran over to her.

"Stella, what's going on? I got your messages." Lindsay whispered recalling the distressed messages Stella had left on her voicemail.

Stella looked back down the corridor to where Hawkes and Danny were now watching the two women's strange behaviour and dragged Lindsay into the ladies' toilets.

"Stella what's going on?" Lindsay asked, watching as Stella checked that every cubicle was empty.

When she was done and she was sure they were alone she took an envelope from her pocket and handed it to Lindsay. Written on the envelope were the words 'Detective Bonasera', no address, no stamps.

"I found it outside my front door when I left this morning."

Lindsay opened the envelope and took out a single piece of paper; it was blank. She gave Stella a confused look before examining the paper again.

"Look inside the envelope again." Stella told her answering her silent question.

Inside the envelope was a perfectly formed pale blue flower with a yellow centre, a forget-me-not. As soon as she saw it Lindsay dropped the envelope as if it was hot.

"He's back, isn't he?" She whispered, not taking her eyes off the envelope which was now lying on the tiled floor.

Stella could barely utter her reply.

"Yes."

**Okay…so this chapter's a little short but the next chapter should be longer. Please let me know what you think :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to PrettyEyes72, Standofffan, BellaMuerte13, star fata, prplerayne, NCISLOVER, dddynamite & Kday89 for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters!**

"This is going to be a long day." Mac mumbled to himself as he entered one of three bloody rooms at the Renaissance hotel. Two floors below him Hawkes was processing room 107 and on the next floor up from him Danny and Lindsay were processing room 412. All three rooms were nearly identical, one young caucasian male, a single stab wound to the chest lying face down next to the bath surrounded by a pool of blood.

Despite the circumstances Mac was glad of the chance to be working with Stella, he had seen the strange way she had been acting earlier in the lab. Maybe it was the fact that it had been six o'clock in the morning but Mac knew it was something more and he wanted to know what was going on.

He made his way to the bedroom: the door was shut.

"Stella?" Mac called opening the door.

Instantly he felt dizzy, something wasn't right. Covering his mouth and nose with his shirt sleeve he entered the room and ran over to where he could now see Stella lying face down on the floor. Without even thinking he picked her up and carried her out of the hotel room alerting the officers in the corridor and ordering them to call an ambulance and to get Hawkes.

Within minutes Hawkes was by his side checking on Stella, blood was inches down her face from a cut on her forehead and her eyes were still firmly shut.

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Danny was printing the door of room 412 when his phone started vibrating, the caller ID told him it was Mac.

"Hey Mac, what can I do for ya?"

"_Danny I need you to check the bedroom."_

"Sure, I think Montana's in there now, what should I be looking for?"

_"Danny get Lindsay out of there now!" _Mac shouted down the phone.

Without asking for an explanation Danny ran to the bedroom nearly breaking the door down in the process. He saw Lindsay slumped against the far wall of the bedroom and didn't waste any time in getting to her.

"Montana?"

She opened her eyes for only a second; it was too hard to keep them open.

"Montana, keep your eyes open." Danny told her as he picked her up and carried her out into the corridor.

"I need some help over here!" Danny shouted placing Lindsay, who was now gasping for breath, against the wall.

"It's alright, you're okay." Danny told her trying to calm her down.

"Danny?" Flack and Hawkes appeared at the end of the corridor, hands hovering over their guns.

"There's some sort of gas leak, I found her barely conscious." He told them as Hawkes knelt down next to Lindsay.

"Stella's on her way to hospital, Mac found her unconscious in the bedroom." Flack told him pulling out his radio.

"This is Detective Flack, I need another EMS unit to the Renaissance hotel."

"No." Lindsay protested hoarsely as she tried to get up, clearing her throat as she did.

"Lindsay you need to be checked over and get a blood test." Hawkes told her.

"We need to get her out of here, the building is being evacuated until they find the source of the gas leak." Flack told them as he watched Danny pick Lindsay up in his arms and let her rest her head against his chest, carried her down to the ground floor and out into the late spring morning.

Through the sea of fire fighters, cops and confused members of the public they saw Mac rushing over to them.

"What happened?" He asked looking at Lindsay who was still being held tightly by Danny.

"Gas leak in the bedroom, she needs to be checked over at the hospital." Hawkes told him helping Danny sit Lindsay down gently on the kerb.

"Right, Flack and I will follow Lindsay to the hospital to get statements. Danny and Hawkes I want you to go back to the lab with any evidence, as soon as this building is declared safe I want you back here processing."

"But…" Danny started.

"No Danny, I need you to go back to the lab." Mac interrupted him.

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"I'm sorry Flack, I wish I could tell you more but all I remember is feeling light-headed and then sitting outside on the kerb." Lindsay told Flack, they were both sitting on the edge of her hospital bed. It was now eleven o'clock in the morning and she had been given the all clear after waiting nearly three hours for the results of her blood test.

"Okay Lindsay, I'll give you a lift back to the lab but Mac doesn't want you going back to the hotel with Danny and Hawkes, he said you've got to take it easy."

"Thanks Flack." She said following him down the corridor, stopping as they walked past the room Stella was in, she had butterfly stitches over the cut on her head and an oxygen mask round her neck. Next to her Mac was sat with his notebook in his hand, scribbling something in it.

"What happened to her head?" She asked Flack who was stood next to her also looking through the window at Mac and Stella.

"She thinks she hit it when she collapsed." He told her. "Come on. Let's get out of here." He continued leading her towards the exit.

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"That was Mac." Danny told Hawkes closing his phone and pocketing it as they entered room 412. "He's on his way back to the lab now. Flack and Montana are already back there."

"Are Stella and Lindsay alright?" Hawkes asked heading to the bedroom.

"They've both been discharged but he told Stella to take the rest of the day off."

"Danny, take a look at this!" Hawkes called to him.

The room was nearly identical to how Danny had left it. The curtains were still drawn, there was broken glass at the foot of the bed and the phone was off the hook. The only difference was the bed, which was covered in little blue flowers.

"They look like forget-me-nots." Hawkes informed Danny who was already half way out of the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Hawkes called as he followed him out of the room.

"Those flowers weren't there before." He told Hawkes as they reached the door of room 302 which Mac and Stella had been processing and entered heading straight for the bedroom.

The room was identical to the other room: large with white painted walls and burgundy curtains and carpet. Like in room 412 the bed was covered in forget-me-nots.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to notesofwimsey, prplerayne, jemb, Kday89, ficweaver, JeniRose, Little Flower Princess & Lyss02 for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters!**

"It doesn't mean that Stella and Lindsay were the actual targets, maybe it was just unlucky that they were processing the bedrooms." Hawkes told Danny as they headed down the corridor towards Mac's office laden with CCTV tapes from the hotel and the surrounding area.

"Either way someone was at the crime scene meaning that evidence could have been contaminated so we have to inform Mac." Danny told him spotting Mac with Lindsay who was looking at something down a microscope.

"Hey Mac, can we talk to you for a minute?" Danny asked looking at Mac and then looking at Lindsay who was now watching them intently.

"Sure Danny, what do you need?" Mac questioned.

"Um, in private." Danny told him glancing at Lindsay who caught his eye and quickly returned to the sample under the microscope.

"Alright then." Mac said putting down the file he was holding and following Danny and Hawkes down the corridor to his office.

"What's this about?" Mac asked sitting down behind his desk as Hawkes put the CCTV tapes down and pulled a small evidence bag containing two flowers from his pocket and handed it to him.

"We were processing the room Danny and Lindsay originally processed and the bed was covered in those." Hawkes explained gesturing to the flowers. "Danny said that they weren't there before so we went down to the room you and Stella were processing and the bed was covered in the same flowers."

"So someone's contaminated the scene?"

"Well yes and no." Hawkes told him

"Go on."

"Well we went to the room that I had started processing and there were no flowers on the bed, everything was how I had left it."

"So you think the flowers are connected to Stella and Lindsay?"

"We know they are we just don't know whether they were the targets or they were just unlucky." Danny told him. "We talked to the fire officer in charge and he informed us that the carbon dioxide got into the rooms through a hole in the ceiling."

"I take it that you processed the rooms above 412 and 302?"

"Of course we did. It looks like the flowers were placed on the beds from the rooms above as well, we found some more forget-me-nots on the floor next to the hole which ran through to the bedrooms below."

"As far as we can tell the hole was covered by a light fitting." Hawkes informed him.

"It sounds planned to me." Mac said looking at the flowers which were still in the clear evidence bag.

"That's what we were thinking which means that those men were killed to lure Lindsay and Stella into those rooms." Danny replied.

"Not necessarily, maybe CSI was the target. How would the killer know that Stella and Lindsay would end up processing the bedrooms?"

"I suppose." Danny sighed. "But what about the forget-me-nots?"

"I'll start searching through our case files starting with cases Lindsay and Stella worked together. I take it you two were going to start searching through the CCTV footage?"

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"I got your page, what've you got?" Mac asked entering the lab.

"A possible suspect, he was hanging around the lobby when both Lindsay and Stella entered but disappears shortly afterwards and was one of the last people to leave when the building was evacuated, he left through the kitchens and into the alleyway." Hawkes told Mac playing him a low quality black and white video showing Stella, Mac and Flack walking through the lobby, a few metres away the suspect is watching them.

"What's he doing? Mac asked pointing to the man's hands.

"Cracking his knuckles, he does the same when Lindsay enters but not when me and Danny arrive shortly before." Hawkes told him fast-forwarding the tape to show him and Danny walking in chatting. As soon as they disappear from view Lindsay walks past talking to someone on her phone.

"Any idea who she's talking to?"

"No, we were long gone by then but in about thirty seconds Lindsay leaves the hotel and comes in again two minutes later with her kit in her hand." Danny told him as they continued to watch the tape.

"She looks distracted which might be the reason she left her kit in the car." Mac said as they watched Lindsay disappear off camera for the last time.

"The man's nowhere to be seen when you leave the building with Stella." Danny said playing the footage of Mac holding Stella's hand as the paramedics wheel her out of the hotel. "But just as Flack and Hawkes run up the stairs he leaves the hotel." He continued as Hawkes played footage of the stairs and footage of the alleyway side by side.

"Well the timings definitely fit, is there no other CCTV footage of him?" Mac asked.

"No, there are only cameras in the lobby, the stairs and the exits, he must have used the lift." Hawkes informed him.

"Good work you two, can you get me a print out of the suspect? I need to talk to Lindsay."

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"Lindsay have you got a minute?" Mac asked from the doorway of her office.

"Yeah sure." Lindsay replied scribbling something on a sheet of paper before putting her pen down.

"Do you recognise this man?" Mac asked handing Lindsay an image from the CCTV footage Danny and Hawkes had been looking through.

"No, I don't think I've seen him before." Lindsay told Mac giving him the picture back. "Who is he?"

"We don't know yet. We think he has something to do with the triple homicide at the hotel and you and Stella ending up in hospital." Mac told her.

"I thought the gas leak was an accident."

"So did we but we've found some evidence to suggest otherwise." Mac said pulling the evidence bag containing the forget-me-nots out of his pocket and giving it to her, watching her reaction closely.

"What are these Mac?" Lindsay asked not looking up at him.

Despite this Mac was certain that he saw her brows furrow slightly and possibly a look of recognition creep across her face.

"Myosotis sylvatica also known as forget-me-nots."

"I know that Mac, I meant where did you get them?" Lindsay asked looking up at him.

"They were scattered over the beds in the rooms that you and Stella were found in this morning." Mac explained searching her face for some kind of reaction again but if Lindsay did know anything her face wasn't giving her away."

"So that's why you think it wasn't an accident?"

"I think that it's safe to come to that conclusion, yes."

"It doesn't mean that Stella and I were the intended victims." Lindsay told him cringing slightly at the thought of her and Stella being victims.

"I didn't say you were, it's quite likely that the department as a whole was targeted."

"Do you want me to start looking through case files?" Lindsay asked in her usual eager voice.

"No Lindsay, I want you to go home and get some rest, Danny and Hawkes will fill you in on the details tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to notesofwimsey, dddynamite, witchbsword, JeniRose, Standofffan & Kday89** **for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters!**

"Hellooo there!" a slurred voice called to Stella from across the street. The sun was fading fast but she could still make out the slim figure stumbling across the nearly empty road towards here.

"Don't ignore me." The obviously tipsy person slurred again before tripping over the curb and falling just inches away from her feet.

"Lindsay what are you doing here? You should be at home." Stella scolded helping her to her feet.

"You should be at home. Mac said that you should rest." Lindsay told her eyeing the butterfly stitches on her forehead.

"Well its not like he's going to find out. Anyway I just needed to grab something from the store." She added showing her the bag in her hand.

"Are you sure about that? Because I called you about ten minutes ago and guess who answered the phone?" Lindsay asked following Stella who had started walking down the street again. "Mac did! He told me that you'd gone out for a bit."

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Stella asked trying to keep the conversation from heading in the direction of her and Mac. Luckily Lindsay didn't seem to notice.

"I called Ashleigh." Lindsay told Stella who stopped walking upon hearing the name. "I couldn't get hold of her so I called Chicago PD, she took two weeks leave just over a week ago."

"Why did she take some leave?" Stella asked.

"I don't know…"

"Montana!"

Both Lindsay and Stella turned to see Danny running towards them closely followed by Flack and Hawkes.

"Stella what are you doing here?" Danny asked as he reached them.

"I live here Danny. What are you lot doing here?" She retorted as Flack and Hawkes joined them.

"Monroe escaped from us." Flack explained breathlessly.

"We saw her playing chicken with the traffic when we were leaving a bar." Hawkes continued.

"When she saw us she darted off so we followed her but then we lost her. We heard her shouting and here we are now." Danny finished. "How much have you had to drink Montana?" He asked Lindsay who was now trying to hide behind Stella.

"Only one little drink." Lindsay giggled holding up seven fingers.

"Come on Montana, let's get you home." Danny told her as he and Hawkes grabbed one of her arms each and led her back down the street followed by Flack.

"See you tomorrow Stella." Flack called over his shoulder as Stella reached the entrance to her building.

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"What was that all about?" Mac called to Stella as she entered the apartment seconds later.

"What was what all about?" Stella asked joining him in the kitchen.

"You, Lindsay, Danny, Hawkes and Flack were all out in the street. Lindsay had obviously been drinking and Danny, Hawkes and Flack were all running down the road. What happened?" Mac asked pouring her a glass of wine.

"Oh, that. Well yes Lindsay was a little drunk but nothing had happened. Danny, Flack and Hawkes just wanted to make sure that she got home alright."

"She called you just after you left, said she wanted to talk to you. She sounded completely out of it. What possessed her to drink so much and why did Danny, Hawkes and Flack let her?" Mac asked already knowing that it would have something to do with what had happened this morning.

"Were you spying on me?" Stella asked avoiding Mac's question.

"What?"

"How come you saw us all out in the street?"

"I wasn't the only person who went to look out of their window after hearing Danny shouting _Montana_ at the top of his voice. And don't think I didn't notice you dodging the question."

"This isn't an interrogation Mac, can we drop it now? I thought tonight was supposed to be about you and me not you me and the New York crime lab."

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"Nice of you two to finally join us." Flack called to Mac and Stella as they emerged from the huge crowd that had formed at the edge of the crime scene.

"We only got the call thirty minutes ago." Stella told him as she assessed the scene.

"But we're four blocks away from the crime lab."

"What happened here?" Mac asked ignoring Flacks comment.

"Paul Randall, thirty-two, driver's licence says he is from Connecticut. Witnesses say they saw him being thrown from the back of a white van." Flack read from his notebook.

"The fall didn't kill him though." Mac informed them crouching down beside the body as Stella started taking pictures.

"Yeah, he was stabbed in the chest." Flack informed them turning the page of his notebook. "The ME places time of death at around 6am but he wasn't thrown from the van until 10am."

"The ME has already assessed the body?" Mac asked raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah, he's just over there." Flack told him pointing to a young man who was chatting to an officer next to the crime scene tape. "He was just waiting for you before he took the body to the morgue."

"Is he new?" Stella asked watching the man.

"Yeah, this is his third New York crime scene, he transferred from Chicago two days ago." Flack told her. "I thought you preferred older guys though." Flack teased earning him a slap on the arm from Stella.

Mac watched her closely, he could have sworn he had seen her stiffen when Flack was talking but whatever had bothered her seemed to have passed.

"Assaulting a police officer is a very serious offence Stel."

"Do you have evidence to back up that claim?"

"I have a witness." Flack mocked looking at Mac for support.

"I didn't see anything." He said taking a step back from the pair with his hands in the air. As he did an argument broke out in the crowd around the scene. Instantly Flack and Mac rushed over to help the officers keep the crowd under control leaving Stella processing.

"Detective Bonasera, it's great to finally be in your presence again." A voice whispered in her ear as she felt cold metal against her neck.

"What do you want?"

"Ashleigh Waring is dead and you and Detective Monroe are next!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to notesofwimsey, MesserMontana4ever, Kday89, mj0621, Standofffan, JeniRose & oddie33325 for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters!**

She spun around grabbing the knife from his hand but as she did he managed to react. He threw his fist at her, hitting her squarely in the face, knocking her off balance and sending her to the floor screaming for help.

Immediately officers came running over to them and he disappeared, leaving the knife and a pile of forget-me-nots next to a dazed looking Stella.

"Stella!" Mac shouted as he reached Stella who was struggling to sit up. He knelt down next to her and helped her into the sitting position, checking her for injuries in the process.

"Looks like you'll get a bruise." Mac told her eyeing the red mark under her left eye. "What happened Stella?"

Stella stared at him blankly before turning to look at the small flowers on the pavement beside her.

"We lost him." Flack informed them as he jogged towards them. "Are you alright Stel?"

"I'm fine" she sighed as she pulled out her phone, dialled a number and placed the phone against her ear. "Damn it!" She cursed before dialling another number.

"Danny, is Lindsay with you?" She asked, not giving him time to answer properly.

_"No Stel, me and Hawkes are the only people in the lab at the moment. I think she took a break, I saw her leave about ten minutes ago."_

"Ok, thanks any way Danny."

_"See ya later Stel."_

"Stella what's going on?" Mac asked as she ended the call and stood up.

"We need to find Lindsay." Stella told them firmly as she lifted the crime scene tape over head and started to push her way through the crowd. Flack and Mac exchanged confused looks before following her.

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"Hey Danny, look at this." Hawkes called to Danny across the room. "I think I've found the link between Stella, Lindsay and forget-me-nots." He told him handing him a case file and pulling up a picture of a woman in her late twenties with shoulder length blonde hair. "CSI Ashleigh Waring, formally of Chicago PD." Hawkes informed him.

"How is she linked to Stella and Lindsay?" Danny asked as he flicked through the file.

"Three years ago all three of them were working on a case involving the rape and murder of three women." Hawkes explained.

"How did that happen? They worked in three different crime labs in three different states."

"All three victims were killed in Chicago but only one of them was found there. The other two ended up in Bozeman and here in New York City each with forget-me-nots by their side."

"Where is Ashleigh Waring now?"

"Dead. She was found in the early hours of this morning, tortured, raped and stabbed. She had been dead for at least four days. Also there were forget-me-nots next to her, just like the others. The original case notes are on their way over here from Chicago and Bozeman already. Mac requested them last night so I don't know if knows about the dead CSI."

"Do you think this man is after Lindsay and Stella now?" Danny asked opening his phone and dialling a familiar number.

"I don't know but after what happened yesterday I'd say that someone definitely wanted them to suffer. I feel think we're missing something though."

"Hawkes, Danny, is Lindsay back yet?" Stella asked as she entered the room followed by Mac and Flack.

"No and she's not answering her phone either. I thought you were at a scene." Danny asked as Hawkes turned the computer screen off.

"Stella what did that man say to you?" Flack asked.

"What man?" Danny and Hawkes questioned simultaneously.

"Stella was attacked at the scene." Mac told them.

"We need to find Lindsay. He wants her dead like Ashleigh." Stella told them pacing the room nervously.

"Wait a minute. How do you know Ashleigh Waring is dead?" Danny asked raising his eyebrow.

"He told me then he said that me and Lindsay are next."

"Who is he Stella?" Flack asked taking a seat next to her.

"I don't know his name, I don't know anything about him."

"Except from that he tortured, raped and killed those women in Chicago three years ago and that he did the same to one of the CSIs working the case." Danny told her.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Adam asked as he entered the room.

"Adam, where's Lindsay?" Danny asked him.

"Outside, she said she had to grab something from her car." Adam told the group uncomfortably, each one of them was staring at him.

Instantly they all rushed over to the window which looked out over the car park. Below them Lindsay was arguing with a man.

"Stella, is that the man from the crime scene?"

Stella nodded. "Yes."

"Stay here Stel and call it in." Flack told her as all four men left the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to 5t4c3y, mj0621, chili-peppers, Standofffan, Kday89& JeniRose for the reviews! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters! **

"You should not have done that." The man shouted as he wiped the water from Lindsay's bottle from his face and started to run after her. She was about ten metres ahead of him but she knew if she didn't gain more distance then he would almost certainly catch up to her.

Danny, Flack, Hawkes and Mac made it out into the car park just in time to witness the man run after Lindsay and they started to follow them through the crowded streets. Ahead of them they watched as Lindsay ran through the traffic only just avoiding being hit by countless vehicles. The man who was still hot on her trail wasn't so lucky and was hit by a yellow taxi and rolled over the bonnet.

As soon as the man hit the ground he got back up again, he appeared to be uninjured. H stood up just in time to see another taxi clip Lindsay sending her tumbling to the pavement on the other side of the road. Like the man had done, she got straight back up again and started to run, not even looking behind to see where he was.

As soon as Lindsay started running again so did the man, closely followed by Danny and Flack. Mac and Hawkes stopped to check that the drivers of both taxis were unharmed before joining in the chase again.

As they approached the water they saw Lindsay trip and fall. Before she had a chance to get back up again the man grabbed hold of her and dragged her to the edge of the water.

"I'm really sorry about your dad, Jason." Lindsay whimpered as she tried to free herself from the man's grip.

"It's too late for apologises, Detective. He's dead and it's your fault." Jason spat as he pushed her against the railings separating them from the water.

"Jason, please…" Lindsay started as she watched Danny and Flack approach them with their guns drawn. Mac and Hawkes were further away, also with their weapons out. Both of them were on the phone almost certainly calling for backup.

"No Detective, an eye for an eye." He interrupted her plea as he climbed onto the railings and dragged Lindsay along with him.

"Say goodbye to your friends Detective." He whispered in her ear before throwing forget-me-nots into the water followed by himself, dragging Lindsay down with him. The last thing she heard before her body hit the icy water, was all four men screaming her name.

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"Lindsay!"

They all ran to the railings where Lindsay had just been. Below neither the man nor Lindsay could be seen. Around them the sirens wailed.

"I'm going in." Danny informed them as he pulled off his shoes.

"Danny wait, look." Hawkes said pointing to the surface where a faint outline of a body could be seen. Seconds later Lindsay surfaced gasping for breath.

The relief of the men quickly vanished when the man also came to the surface and started to try and pull Lindsay under the water. They watched helplessly as Lindsay struggled with the man until both of them looked too tired to fight back or even tread water.

"She needs help, I'm going in." Danny said climbing over the railings.

"Not without me you're not." Flack said taking off his shoes and joining him on the edge.

As soon as Danny and Flack hit the water, Hawkes and Mac witnessed Jason kick Lindsay as hard as he could in the stomach. The blow sent Lindsay sinking to the dark depths of the dirty water and out of sight.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to Standofffan, chili-peppers, passionatecsi, Iluv-the-o.c001, ImaSupernaturalCSI, Juda, Quigon & mj0621 for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine!**

"Lindsay!" Danny called over the water.

"You go for Lindsay, I'll take the S.O.B!" Flack called to him as they watched the man as he struggled to keep his head above the water for more than a few seconds at a time. Flack watched as Danny dived under in search of Lindsay before swimming round the back of the man who was still thrashing about in the water. He placed his arm tightly over the man's shoulder and across his chest and towed him to the side where Mac and Hawkes were watching the events unfold.

Once he had helped Mac and Hawkes get the struggling man out of the water and into cuffs, Flack headed back to where he had just seen Danny disappear into the water again.

Thirty seconds later, Danny reappeared, struggling for breath. As soon as he appeared, Flack dived down into the water. Ten seconds later, Danny joined him.

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The water was so cold and dark and it only got worse as he got nearer the bottom. Through the dirty brown water he could see her, her pale skin stood out against the murky surroundings.

He kicked himself free of the weeds, grabbed hold of her and placed his arm securely round her waist. He kicked off the bottom and used his free arm to push himself through the water quicker.

Just as he thought he couldn't hold his breath for any longer he broke the surface and he could breathe again.

Immediately Flack took Lindsay's limp body from him and towed her to the side where Mac and Hawkes dragged her out of the water and lay her flat on the ground.

By the time Danny was out of the water Hawkes and Mac were performing CPR on Lindsay and EMS had just arrived along with patrol. Danny froze as he watched Hawkes blow air into Lindsay's lungs.

After what seemed like forever, Lindsay started coughing up water and Hawkes quickly rolled her onto her side so that she didn't choke. When the coughing fit had finished, Hawkes rolled her back onto her back and checked her over again.

"She's breathing!" He heard Hawkes announce.

"Is she going to be alright?" Danny asked, kneeling down next to her and taking hold of her cold hand, as the paramedics placed an oxygen mask over her face.

"For now, but her brain was starved of oxygen so there is a risk of brain damage." Hawkes told him

"Danny, I want you and Flack to get yourselves checked over. I will go back to the lab to find Stella and we'll meet you at the hospital."

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"Mac, I've got the results on the knife from the crime scene this morning. The knife is a match to the knife used at the Renaissance Hotel yesterday." Adam told Mac as he headed down the corridor towards the break room.

"Were there any prints on it?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, but so far AFIS hasn't found a match."

"Have you got anything else for me?" Mac asked gazing through the window of the break room at Stella, who had her back to them making coffee.

"Yeah actually, I have. Some case files from both Chicago and Bozeman arrived after you left this morning."

"Thanks Adam." Mac said as he opened the break room door.

"Did you catch him?" Stella asked as soon as she saw him enter the room.

"Yes, we did."

"Is Lindsay ok?" Stella asked walking over to him.

"Lindsay is at Trinity General."

"What? Why?" Stella asked.

"They both ended up in the river, he kicked her under and she didn't resurface."

"Is she going to be alright?"

"Danny and Flack managed to get her out but she wasn't breathing for a while. Hawkes said there is a risk of brain damage; she was still unconscious when the paramedics took her in the ambulance.

"What about the man?"

"He's also being checked over at the hospital."

"I need to be there." Stella told him, heading over to the door.

"I'll take you."

"Thanks." She said opening the door.

"But Stella; I think it's about time that you let us know what's going on."


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to chili-peppers, Samwelshdragon, 5t4c3y, ImaSupernaturalCSI, oddie33325, mj0621, Standofffan & JeniRose for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters!**

"I have to tell them everything." Stella whispered to an unconscious Lindsay, squeezing her hand gently. "I'll be back soon." She whispered again before standing up and leaving the hospital room.

"The Doctor said that they're going to take her for a CT scan." Danny told her as she stood beside him.

"Yeah, Hawkes mentioned something like that." Stella replied hoarsely, gazing through the window into the hospital room.

"Come on." He told her, patting her on the shoulder gently. "I think Flack has found us some decent coffee." He said as he led her down the corridor.

Mac, Flack and Hawkes were all in the far corner of the family room, clutching cups of coffee and talking quietly.

"How is she?" They asked simultaneously as Danny and Stella entered.

"She's still unconscious." Stella told them, sitting down next to Mac.

"Is that bastard still here?" Danny asked Flack.

"No. Jason Barrow is on his way to the precinct as we speak." Flack told him.

"Jason Barrow?" Stella asked.

"You know him then?" Mac asked her.

"Yeah, I didn't recognise him; he's changed a lot in the last three years."

"Is he the person responsible for those three women's deaths in Chicago?" Hawkes asked.

"No. His father, Mike Barrow, was one of the suspects in the case. Jason was seventeen at the time and was on a school trip in Michigan at the time of the murders."

"Did his father go down for the murders?" Flack asked.

"No. No one did. Lindsay and I both went to Chicago to help Ashleigh with the case but it was never solved."

"So it's possible that Jason is a copy cat?" Danny asked.

"Yes."

"But why now? It's been three years." Danny asked no one in particular.

"Because Lindsay killed his father." Flack told them.

"What?" Everyone asked at once.

"Before they ended up in the water, Lindsay was apologising to Jason about his dad but he said it was too late and that it was her fault." Flack explained.

"Mike Barrow died about a month after me and Lindsay left Chicago. Cause of death was a heart attack; it had nothing to do with Lindsay."

"Ok, so what actually happened three years ago?" Mac asked.

"I was called out to an apartment building in Brooklyn. The body of a woman had been found dumped in the doorway; someone had obviously wanted it to be found. Anyway, I identified the vic as Sasha Miller, a waitress from Chicago and when I called Chicago PD they informed me that her blood had been found at a crime scene where they had found a woman's body six days earlier. They also said that another body had been found in a school yard in Bozeman, who they also believed was killed at the crime scene." Stella explained, not looking up from the floor.

"Ok, then what?"

"I processed the body and the scene but all I could find were forget-me-nots and a fibre which turned out to be from the clothes of Lisa Gerrard, the body found in Bozeman." Stella told them.

"I take it Lindsay and Ashleigh didn't get much from the other bodies?" Mac asked.

"No. He cleaned up well, didn't leave a trace of himself on the bodies or at the scene. Chicago CSI asked us to help with the investigation and Lindsay and I spent two weeks in Chicago but we got nowhere. We had five suspects; each of them lived within three blocks of each other."

"What was the name of the woman found in Chicago?" Flack asked as he scribbled in his notebook.

"Claire Alexander."

"Stella, before when Lindsay was being chased, this fell out of her pocket." Mac said handing her an envelope with the words 'Detective Bonasera' scrawled on the front. "Why didn't you tell us about this?"

Stella didn't say anything; she just stared at her feet.

"Stella?" Mac pushed.

"I found it outside my apartment, I wanted to tell Lindsay first and then… I don't know…" Stella mumbled, shrugging her shoulders.

"Ok, so why forget-me-nots?" Flack asked.

Again Stella shrugged her shoulders. "We don't know for sure. We all just figured that whoever the killer was, they didn't want to be forgotten."

"Wait a minute, this doesn't make any sense. Those women and the CSI in Chicago were tortured, raped and stabbed. You and Lindsay were gassed and drowned." Danny interrupted.

"Someone else could be involved." Hawkes suggested to the group. "Ashleigh was killed sometime yesterday; Jason would have had to be at the hotel gassing Lindsay and Stella at the same time." Hawkes explained.

"There are more than two people involved. The person from the hotel CCTV wasn't Jason Barrow." Mac informed them.

"So there are at least two more people, one who is definitely in New York, looking for some sort of revenge." Flack summed up. "I'll have some officers over here and I'll personally make sure Lindsay never leaves my sight." He continued before leaving the room.

Once he had left, Mac stood up.

"Stella, Hawkes, we're going back to the lab, we need to track these people down."

"But…" Stella protested.

"Stella, you know more about this case than anyone else. You're the key to finding them." Mac told her firmly.

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"Stella do you recognise this man?" Mac asked, showing her the CCTV image he had previously shown Lindsay.

"Yeah, he was one of the suspects in Chicago. I think his name was Matthew, I can't remember his last name." She told him, eyeing the image before turning to look out of the window.

"Matthew Finley." Hawkes read from the file he was reading. "He worked in the same office as Lisa Gerrard, the woman found in Bozeman."

"Stella can you think of who this third person could be?" Mac asked her.

"Stella?" Mac asked again when he didn't get a response.

"Stella?" He repeated, going over to the window.

"That's him Mac." She said pointing to a man out on the street. "That's the other person."


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks to ImaSupernaturalCSI, chili-peppers, Samwelshdragon, mj0621, Juda, oddie33325 & JeniRose for reviewing!**

Mac and Hawkes were outside in a matter of seconds and charging full speed at the man Stella had pointed out. The man saw them and ran but not quickly enough; Hawkes had hold of him seconds later and was wrestling him to the ground.

"Give it up." Mac shouted as he attempted to cuff the struggling man.

"Not a chance, Detective." The man sneered, freeing his hand and throwing his fist at Hawkes.

"Damn it!" Hawkes cursed, wiping the blood from his nose and steadying himself against a car.

Mac was now pinning the man to the ground avoiding being hit by the man's flaying legs while struggling to close the cuffs around his wrists.

Suddenly the man stopped struggling and instead, began laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny?" Mac asked, hauling the man to his feet with Hawkes' help. The man continued to laugh.

"I asked you a question." Mac spat angrily.

"They are no safer than they were before."

"Why? Because we have Jason Barrow in custody or because both Detective Bonasera and Detective Monroe are currently under the protection of New York's finest?" Mac asked, raising his eyebrow.

"There is someone else."

"Oh, you mean Matthew Finley?" Hawkes asked him, a smile forming at the edge of his lips. "We'll have him as well soon; he won't get very far with every cop from here to Chicago on the look out for him. If was you, I would have stayed in Chicago, you'd have lived a little longer.

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"What did Mac say?" Danny asked as Flack entered, not looking away from Lindsay.

"They arrested someone called Nick Stopford outside the lab and patrol picked up another guy called Matthew Finley. Mac and Hawkes are about to start interrogating them." Flack said, standing beside him.

"How's she doing?" He asked gesturing to Lindsay through the window.

Danny sighed. "CT scan was clear; she should be awake by now."

"She's probably just tired; it's been a long couple of days. Maybe you should take a leaf out of her book and get some rest."

"Do you know what happened in Chicago?" Danny asked in attempt to change the subject.

"What do you mean? Stella already told us what happened." Flack asked, confusion evident on his face.

"She wasn't telling us everything."

"What makes you think that?" Flack asked still clearly confused. Danny ignored Flack and ran from the room.

"Danny?" Flack called after him, following him into the hospital room and over to Lindsay.

"It's ok Lindsay." Danny told her, taking her hand to try and calm the panicking woman.

"Stella? Where's Stella?" Lindsay asked hoarsely, trying to sit up.

"She's okay, Linds. She's at the lab, you're both safe now." Danny reassured her, letting the woman's head fall against his chest.

"But Matthew Finley and Nick Stopford are still out there." Lindsay told them, lifting her head up.

"Stopford was arrested outside the lab and Finley was arrested trying to catch a flight back to Chicago and is on his way to the precinct. Like Danny said, you're both safe now." Flack told her with a reassuring smile.

Lindsay nodded "Can I go home now?" She asked, fiddling with the IV in her arm.

"It's four in the morning and you've only just regained consciousness. I think you should get some sleep Montana." Flack laughed at Lindsay's confused reaction until she hit him.

"What? Danny calls you it all the time!" Flack exclaimed, trying to look hurt, earning him a death glare from Danny.

"He's allowed to; you on the other hand, are not." Lindsay told Flack, flashing him a smile.

"Okay, okay." Flack laughed, raising his hands up in surrender. "I get it. I'm going to grab a coffee." He told them as he left the room.

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"I'm going to ask you one more time, Jason. Were you involved in the death of CSI Ashleigh Waring?" Hawkes asked, leaning closer to him.

The young man said nothing and continued to stare at Hawkes.

"Okay, what about the deaths of three men at the Renaissance hotel? Did you kill them?" Hawkes asked, already knowing that he wouldn't get an answer.

He was right; the man didn't utter a word

"I'm going to take your silence as a sign of guilt." Hawkes said sitting back in his chair.

"What about Detectives Bonasera and Monroe? Was it you who was responsible for gassing them as well as Detective Monroe ending up in the river?" Again the man was silent.

"Look, Jason. You're already going down for what happened to Detective Monroe, if you don't cooperate you'll end up on death row for the murder of a Chicago cop and three other people along with the attempted murder of two other police officers." Hawkes said getting up. "Think about it." He said before leaving the room.

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"Time's up Stopford." Mac said, looking away from the clock which told him it was quarter to six in the morning. "Tell me what happened."

The only sound came from the ticking clock, counting away the seconds on the wall behind the suspect.

"So you're going to let Jason get away with his part in the murders?" Mac asked.

"What do you mean? Nick mumbled for the first time throughout the interrogation.

"Jason told us that it was you who killed them." Mac told him.

"You're lying. Jason doesn't know anything."

"Believe what you want. It isn't going to make your current situation any better." Mac spat as he stood up and left.

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"Why the hell do they make it so hard for themselves?" Hawkes sighed, still watching Nick Stopford through the glass.

"I take it you didn't have any luck with Jason?" Mac asked as he entered the room.

"No, he didn't say a word." Hawkes confirmed. "Maybe we'll have more luck with Matthew Finley."

"We might, but it's looking unlikely. Is there any word from the hospital?" Mac asked.

"I called Flack about thirty minutes ago. Lindsay regained consciousness but she and Danny are both asleep now."

"And how's Stella?"

"Asleep at Flack's desk. I checked on her about ten minutes ago."

"We'll interrogate Finley later." Mac told Hawkes. "We need to get some sleep."

"Detective Taylor?" A young officer, who neither man recognised burst into the room. "Something's wrong at the hospital."


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to chili-peppers, Standofffan, Fray Ray, Murgy31, Horsefan520, Mnemosyne01 & Juda for reviewing!**

Gunshots woke Flack from his dreamless sleep. Instantly he was fully awake and had unholstered his weapon. Through the window he could see Lindsay in Danny's arms, despite the chaos somewhere down the corridor; both of them were still asleep.

Upon hearing the sound of smashing glass nearby, Flack spun around just in time to see a man running at him with a gun.

A single gun shot brought both men to the ground.

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The familiar sound of a gun being fired woke Danny and Lindsay with a start, without hesitating Danny kissed Lindsay's cheek, pulled his gun from its holster and approached the door.

Lindsay watched as Danny slowly pulled the door open and slipped into the corridor.

Thirty seconds later, another gunshot echoed throughout the room and Lindsay witnessed Danny and a uniformed officer drop to the floor.

She waited with bated breath for a sign that Danny was alright. Another long thirty seconds passed and the officer that had gone down with Danny suddenly appeared, talking quickly into his radio.

The sight caused Lindsay to go into panic mode. Realising that Danny could be injured, she pulled at her IV so that it came out and ran to the door, ignoring the sharp pain in her stomach and the fact that the room around her was spinning.

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In the middle of the corridor Danny could see Flack, on top of his legs a man lay whimpering, a gun still clenched in his hand.

Danny glanced at the two officers to his left, who were edging closer to the man with the gun and Flack.

"Flack, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine as soon as you get this idiot away from me." Flack muttered under his breath.

"Shut up!" The man shouted raising his gun.

Before he even had a chance to pull the trigger one of the officers had put a bullet into his chest causing both the man and the gun to fall to the fall.

At the same time, both Danny and the other officer dropped to the ground, the officer secured the weapon and Danny went to help Flack.

"Are you hit?" Danny asked eyeing Flack who was still lying on the floor.

"Nope, this idiot just fell on me when officer Murphy shot him down. He must have been on one hell of a mission to have carried on with a bullet in his shoulder."

"He had a bullet in his leg as well." Danny told him, looking at the man.

"Yeah, one of the security guards got him." The officer on the floor told them as he stood up and started talking into his radio.

"Do you think he wanted Lindsay?" Danny asked quietly.

"I dunno. He could have just been a junkie looking for a fix." Flack told him, sitting up. "Either way you better call Mac."

"Danny? Flack? What happened?" Lindsay asked as she appeared in the doorway, clinging helplessly to the frame to keep herself stood up.

"Montana!" Danny called as both he and Flack scrambled to their feet and over to Lindsay just in time to stop her from hitting the ground.

"Linds, what are you doing out of bed?" Danny asked as he carried the pale woman back to the hospital bed.

"Danny, Lindsay, Flack, what's going on?" Mac asked entering the room followed by Hawkes and Stella; both had concerned looks on their faces.

"Gun wielding maniac, probably a junkie, decided to try and take a shot at me so officer Murphy shot him, hit him in the chest." Flack informed them.

"Security had already put a bullet in his leg and Murphy had already got him in the shoulder but he wasn't about to give in." Danny continued.

"And Lindsay?" Stella asked as she moved closer to the bed.

"Montana here got a little over excited and decided she wanted to play the heroine." Danny said as he watched Lindsay turn red.

"That is not true…" Lindsay started.

"She didn't even make it to the door though." Flack interrupted.

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"Hey Mac, I've got something." Hawkes called over to Mac from where he was crouched beside the body. "This was in his back pocket." He said handing him a folded up piece of paper.

"Lindsay Monroe, room 238." Mac read from the paper.

"Guess we know what this guy was after." Hawkes said turning back to processing the body.

"Have we got a name yet?"

"No ID in his pockets, just that note and ten bucks." Hawkes said showing him the evidence bags containing the contents of the man's pockets.

"I'll get Stella out here; see if she knows who this guy is." Mac said heading over to door, leaving Hawkes taking pictures.

"Stella, you got a minute?" Mac asked from the entrance to the room.

"Yeah, sure." She said walking over to him. "What do you need?"

"The body out there, do you know who he is?" Mac asked.

"I didn't get a good look at him." Stella told him heading over to Hawkes and the man.

"That's Ben Stone, another of the suspects from Chicago. I think he was the man at the crime scene the other day, where the man was thrown from a van."

"The man with the knife?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, I definitely knew his voice and now that I can see his face…"

"Okay, thanks Stella. Hawkes, when we are finished here I need you to go home and get some sleep. We still have to interview Matthew Finley tomorrow."


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for not updating since April – exams kinda got in the way of progress.**

**Thanks to anyone who has ever reviewed & to chili-peppers, Stella Taylor, ImaSupernaturalCSI, Jade Storms & JennCorinthos for reviewing the last chapter & to neveragain77 for the PM!**

**This is the last chapter.**

"Do you recognise these men?" Hawkes asked Matthew Finley, throwing autopsy pictures of Ben Stone and Paul Randal on the table in front of him.

"Ben's dead?" The man asked, staring at the pictures.

"Yeah, tried to get into Detective Monroe's hospital room, but you already knew that." Mac told him.

"What gives you that impression?" Finley asked, looking up from the picture.

"Just something Jason told us…"

"Jason doesn't know anything." Finley spat, cutting Mac off.

"You know, that's exactly what Nick Stopford told us. I think that you're protecting him, a promise to his dead father maybe?" Mac asked the man.

"We already know that you were at the hotel the day those three men were murdered and two NYPD officers ended up in hospital, we have CCTV footage of you sneaking out of the back exit." Hawkes told him."

"Ok, so I was there, but I didn't kill anyone, I was on the lookout."

"For Jason?" Hawkes asked.

The man didn't say anything.

"We know Jason had the knife used to kill the men at some point, his fingerprints were on it and so were Ben Stone's."

"Fine, I was looking out for Jason and Nick."

"Nick Stopford?"

"Yeah. Jason got it into his head that Detective Monroe was the reason his father, Mike Barrow, died. He kept going on about her constantly questioning his dad, said he was stressing out. Anyways, he said he wanted that _stupid bitch_ to pay for it. He's been talking about it ever since his father's death."

"So what about Detective Bonasera? Why was she gassed as well?" Mac asked.

"Nick took Jason to Bozeman looking for Detective Monroe and they found out that she had transferred somewhere else. They both spent there time trying to find out where she was. When Jason found out she was at the New York Crime Lab with Detective Bonasera he decided he wanted to hurt them both."

"So you had nothing to do with any of the murders at the Renaissance Hotel?"

"Nope, I ain't a murderer."

"Ok. So who killed CSI Ashleigh Waring? It wasn't Jason, he was in New York, she was killed back in Chicago." Hawkes told him.

"Paul Randall."

"Paul Randall was found dead in New York only four hours after CSI Waring was found in Chicago." Hawkes interrupted.

"CSI Waring had been dead for over two days before Randal was killed." Finley informed them.

"We knew that but how did you know that?" Mac asked.

"Paul Randall killed those women three years ago, tried to do the same to Detectives Monroe and Bonasera but that CSI found them before much harm could come to them so he killed her." He told them.

"What do you mean, before much harm could come to them?" Mac asked, panic evident on his face.

"Don't worry, he didn't have his way with them, just knocked them around a bit."

"Ok, so who killed Paul Randall?" Hawkes asked, changing the subject.

"Ben Stone." Finley told them, pointing to the autopsy picture, still on the table in front of him. "He was pissed at Paul because of what he put us all through; no one back in Chicago looked at us the same after it came out that we were all suspects. Paul wasn't even a suspect, he went back to Connecticut, none of us had seen him since until about six weeks ago."

"Why did Ben try and kill Detective Monroe?"

"I dunno." Finley shrugged, leaning back on his chair. "Was he drunk?"

"Yes."

"He lost his job three years ago and turned to alcohol, I don't know why he went after Detective Monroe, maybe he thought it was easier to get to her at the hospital than a lab full of cops."

"What about Jack Bradley?" Hawkes asked

"What about him?"

"Well he was a suspect along with you, Jason, Ben and Nick. How's he involved?"

"He's not; last I heard he was in Kansas."

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"Do you think he was telling the truth?" Danny asked Mac and Hawkes after they had explained to him and Flack what Matthew Finley had told them.

"I think he had more to do with the events at the Renaissance hotel but apart from that I think he's telling the truth." Mac told them.

"And about what happened to them in Chicago?" Danny asked.

"I don't know…" Mac said looking through the glass wall of the office and into the office opposite where Stella and Lindsay were sat with there back towards them. "Stella never mentioned that anything had happened. I hope it was the truth, I hope it didn't go any further."

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They're talking about us." Lindsay said glancing at the four men across the corridor.

"They're just concerned. Are you alright?" She asked as Lindsay grimaced.

"Still a little sore."

"Why aren't you at home?"

"Danny didn't seem to think it was safe, he wanted to check with Mac, make sure that no one else wanted to do either of us any harm." Lindsay told her.

"You're lucky; he obviously cares a lot about you." Lindsay glared at her. "Oh, come on Lindsay, he jumped in the Hudson to save you."

"So did Flack, it doesn't mean that there's anything between us."

"Lindsay…"

"Okay, okay, you got me, the rumours are true but we are changing the subject right now."

"No fair."

"Okay, what about you and Mac then?"

"You're right; I think they are talking about us." Stella said, turning to watch the men. "I think they might know about our narrow escape in Chicago, I never told them, not even Mac." She told Lindsay turning away from them again.

"If Ashleigh hadn't found us you think that…" Lindsay started.

"It's not worth thinking about Lindsay. Between us we left Chicago with a collection of cuts and bruises and a sprained wrist, nothing more." Stella told her softly.

"But if Ashleigh hadn't found us then she wouldn't be dead. It's only because she took the lead that night that she was made known."

"You know that that is not true Lindsay. Whoever took the lead on the case from the Chicago team would have been at risk. We are not responsible for what happened to Ashleigh, okay?"

Lindsay nodded.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride home, you have some packing to do."

"Thanks Stel but Danny said that he'd take me home. It doesn't matter anyway; I'm not going to the funeral."

"Lindsay…."

"I just don't think it's fair on Ashleigh's family."

"You need some closure, we both do. Paying our respects to Ashleigh and getting away from the lab for a while is the only way that's going to happen. We can stop worrying, they're going to jail for a long time, it's over." Stella told her as she stood up. "Come on, let's go and talk to them." She continued, leading the way to Mac's office.

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Flack flipped his cell phone shut and turned to face Lindsay and Stella. "All three of them are going to be charged with three counts of murder and the attempted murder of two police officers over what happened at the hotel. Nick Stopford has also been charged with assault on a police officer and Jason Barrow has been charged with two more counts of attempted murder of a police officer. Needless to say they won't make bail."

"Thanks Flack." Lindsay said, speaking for the first time since she had entered the office.

"Er, Mac, can we have a word please?" Stella asked.

"Yeah, sure. What do you need?"

Lindsay looked around the office, rubbing her arm nervously.

"Erm, we better get back to work." Flack said, sensing their discomfort.

"Before you go we want to say that we're sorry that we didn't tell any of you what was going on as soon as I received the first flower." Stella told them, glancing around the office at her colleagues. Next to her Lindsay nodded silently.

"You both did what you thought was right, none of us in this room have any right to judge." Flack told them as he stood up.

"He's right, it's in the past, and you should leave it there." Hawkes said, rubbing Stella's shoulder sympathetically.

"That includes you Montana." Danny winked at Lindsay before following Flack and Hawkes out of the office. "I'll talk to you later." He called over his shoulder.

"Lindsay and I need to take some leave." Stella told him once all three men had left.

"Okay, as I expected. Can I ask…"

"We're going to Chicago for Ashleigh's funeral." Stella said cutting him off.

"Okay, how long do you need?"

"The funeral is the day after tomorrow, our flight is in the morning. After that I don't know."

"We don't need more than a week." Lindsay told him firmly.

Stella rolled her eyes at Mac who threw her a knowing look back.

"Okay, but if you need longer you just have to let me know."

"Thanks Mac." Lindsay said standing up. "I'll see you in a week."

"And I'll see you later." Stella told him with a smile before leaving with Lindsay.

"Remember Lindsay, if you need more time..." Mac called to her.

"I know Mac, I'll tell you."

**I know endings aren't my strong point but there it was anyway :)**


End file.
